Uyển Thư remained still.
The aftershock of their brief clash lingered in her wrist, crawling down to her feet.
Not from any injury—
but from the chill that had crept up her spine
the moment his eyes had looked straight through her.
"Next time, come without the poison in your voice…"
His voice still echoed—
even, polite, gentle.
But it cut like a knife.
She had lost.
Not in skill.
But in something deeper.
"He didn't just fight me. He read me. Every hesitation, every flicker in my gaze, every shift in my footing. I was bare before I even struck."
Uyển Thư quietly stepped out of the café, shoes damp with rain. No one stopped her.
No one noticed.
Except for a shadow behind the windowpane—
still watching.
Still silent.
Lâm Khả Vũ hadn't followed.
And somehow,
that unsettled her more than any blade.
🕰️ Three days earlier — in an underground chamber
"Target name: Lâm Khả Vũ.
Alias: White Serpent.
Age: 24. Second-highest honors, Faculty of International Law, Yên Thành University.
Origin: Unknown. No legal family ties. No official background.
Note: S-Class Special Threat — 'Do not underestimate under any circumstances.'"
The man handed her a slim dossier.
Stamped in red across the cover: TERMINATE.
"Orders are to eliminate."
"And if I can't?" she asked.
"Then don't let him see your eyes."
Her hands clenched.
Back then, she didn't understand what that meant.
Now she did.
His eyes…
cut deeper than steel.
They pulled at her thoughts, her doubts, her core.
And the most dangerous part?
At the moment her blade had been knocked away—
she wasn't angry.
She was—
"…intrigued?"
Her lips tightened.
That thought alone made her want to claw her own skin.
🌧️ Later that night — in an abandoned warehouse
"Status?" a voice crackled over the comms.
"Failed."
"Injured?"
"Only my pride."
Silence.
"Request backup?"
"No."
Her eyes dropped to her hand—
still trembling slightly.
"Next time, I won't falter.
Even if he reads my soul…
I'll still strike through his heart."
🥀 What she didn't know—
was that at that very moment,
he was flipping through her file,
in the third basement of a forgotten library.
🥀 Two killers.
One wrapped in education and gentle smiles.
One cloaked in orders and icy silence.
The game had only just begun.